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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

 In the process of starting a business, assembling a group of people in line with similar ideals is paramount in achieving a goal. Despite each person having different strengths and various dedications, they will have work together to formulate a strategic business plan to ensure success. A business cannot grow if the founders disagree on each other’s company development strategy. Similar to a child growing up, everyone loves and wants the baby to grow up healthy, but too many conflicting parental styles will negatively affect the baby. In the case of Henry Tam and MGI, we further analyze how disagreements in business strategies affect the development of the company. The origin of disagreements may come from ethnicity, business attitudes, and downplaying the opponents. Every year, Harvard Business School hosts an annual business plan contest. The contest is a way for HBS students to apply the fundamentals learned in the classroom to the real-world entrepreneurial ventures. Henry Tam, a final semester MBA student, was looking forward to utilizing this contest platform to aid an existing start-up. He initially made contact with Music Games International, a start-up formed two years prior focused on developing interactive music education video games. MGI released a video game that was critically acclaimed but commercially a failure. Henry Tam joined the team and immediately attempted to contribute his talents towards the future of the Page 1

Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

company. However, Henry and the team were met with many roadblocks. The team had no systematic approach to problem-solving within the organization. The team spent far too long brainstorming abstract ideas instead of focusing on smaller issues present for success. Specific members of the team also lacked personal respect for one another and quarreling began to develop. The team also lacked a specific leader that could specify team roles, delegate, and be the final say on matters. Henry needs to take charge of the business side of the organization and articulate a business plan. A leader that can inspire and motivate the team is essential for the team’s success. Henry would define clear roles for each member, ensure that each team members understands their personal role, guarantee that everyone respects one another. In accomplishing these tasks, Henry and the team will be able to establish a product that is commercially and critically successful. The MGI team consisted of three American immigrants that share Eastern European roots, Sasha, Igor, and Roman. Sasha represents the business end of MGI dealing with business management, production, and fundraising. Igor and Roman are world-class musicians fundamental in creative aspects of the business. The founders were known for working alone, bringing in contract staff when deficiencies in business areas were prevalent. On Roman’s account, he states that the group was not easy to work with.

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

Henry met with Igor to discuss the potential of including him on the team to submit into the HBS business plan contest. He was immediately enamored by Igor’s charisma and agreed to share the responsibilities with another HBS student, Dana Soiman. Dana came from an investment banking background and was truly enthusiastic and impressed with the product. The team was rounded out with two other individuals from Berklee and MIT. Alex Sartakov was a student at Berklee that had a background in business management and marketing related to the music industry. Dav Clark was a student from MIT that specialized in the technical aspects of software development. The team was unintentionally divided into three sections, the Russians, the HBS students, and the other students. This complex group dynamic contributed to the majority of problems present in the team. Immediately, Henry was unsure of his specific role within the company. Henry and Dana were also apprehensive about the future of team because it was apparent that Sasha wanted to use them to get access to the extensive Harvard Alumni Association. In the view of the HBS students, it was apparent that Sasha wanted to use them just for their Harvard student status. The HBS students were also unsure about the direction of the business and were getting frustrated by how team’s process to formulate decisions. The meetings lasted far too long and were bogged down by brainstorming instead of concrete action plans. The Russian musicians

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

also had a proclivity for a relaxed demeanor in meetings, while the HBS students wanted structured meetings to achieve specific goals. The animosity between Dana and Sasha also contributed the meetings not being very successful. Sasha viewed Dana as a student who did not know anything about the real world. Sasha’s aggressive personality also created a rift between members of the group. Dana viewed Sasha as a glorified sales person and not a leader who can carry out a vision. The team continued to fight and could not seem to agree on the ultimate vision of the company. The HBS students wanted to face the business towards the education market, arguing that this strategy would produce short-term and long-term market success. They provided concrete research and were thorough in their business suggestion. The HBS students had impressed everyone but Sasha, who still did not respect their input on the direction of the company. The Russians wanted to face their business towards the entertainment market because this was the most profitable market for their game. As reiterated by Dav, the Russians were fundamentally stubborn, and the biggest problem was the difference in ethnic backgrounds. Alex, attempting to play mediator throughout these conflicts, realized the main reason that HBS and the Russians were against each other was due to the contrast of creativity in the Russians versus the pragmatic and analytical

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

approach of the HBS students. Henry needs to utilize this information to come up with an action plan to ensure the success of MGI. The group has a variety of different problems that need to be addressed by Henry to ensure the success of the team. The first issue present with the group is the difference in upbringings and ethnicities among the team members. The Russians clearly do not value the HBS students’ opinions and they are not receptive to different ways of conducting business. The main cause of this problem is the team has no roles established or a leader to steer the business in the right direction. Each team member has no accountability and is doing individual work rather than collaborating. The team also does not share a common vision. This lack of agreement is causing disputes and friction between the team members for the direction of the business. The team also is having trouble communicating and developing relationships with one another. Despite these apparent weaknesses in the team structure, each individual has something to contribute to the team. Each team member is highly motivated and committed to achieving the ultimate goal. These issues will cause the team to fail in their goal and nobody want this to happen. As the contest is less than three weeks away, the team needs to appoint a temporary leader to steer everyone to the same direction. Since Sasha is conservative individual, it

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

is difficult for him to accept an external leader at this time, since the deadline is close. Thus, Henry is perfect candidate for this position. Sasha admits that Henry is calm and well-prepared person. In the current situation were team members have many disagreements, Henry still understands and respects everyone. A leader is a person who has the respect from everyone and Henry exhibits this. Henry is a leader with immediate credibility that can mediate and be the final say in all matters. Henry will also eliminate the inherent bias that the team has developed together over time. Henry needs to be effective at establishing a clear long-term vision and aligning people in the organization to the overall goals. Dana will have to subsequently work as a number two role behind the leader, facilitating the leader with the necessary information to effectively run the business. Dana is chosen for this role because she is able to holistically approach business ideas. This will help her avoid the direct confrontation from Sasha. Henry will have to develop an organization culture of honesty, open communication, and respect for all. He is also the person who well understands the apparent rift between the HBS students and the Russians. His calm approach to this problem will help him develop a relationship between Dana and Sasha through mediation techniques. The team, on its own, needs to establish respect for each other and each other’s ideas. This mutual respect will remove the Russians’ feeling of

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

superiority over the HBS students. The presence of a leader will keep meetings structured, organized, and stop any digressions from happening. Henry should also suggest that the business team and the creative team meet separate, with him acting as a liaison between these two teams. This would allow the creativity team to have long brainstorming sessions, while still distributing the same information to the business and analytical team. A temporary leader is paramount for the success of MGI since no one in the team has defined their role declaration. They cannot determine their scopes and contributions to MGI. A leader will encourage individual strengths, specify scopes, and point out people’s weaknesses. Through appointing Henry as a temporary leader, the team will be able to hash out their differences and unite towards a common goal. The Innovator’s DNA is an article that highlights the necessary skills that all successful entrepreneurs have. Innovators are different because they constantly question the world around them. They are open to understanding, practicing, learning, and experimenting to come up with ideas that no one has ever thought of before. In regard to the three Russians, none of them exhibit the basic skills of being successful innovators. Sasha is too narrow-minded and is not receptive to hearing all the possibilities to one solution. Igor and Roman have the ability to link their experience from their field into the software and entertainment industry. However, they spend most of their time

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

brainstorming instead of experimenting with new innovative ideas. Henry is the only one of the group that exhibits basic entrepreneurial skills such as questioning one’s surroundings and thinking holistically. For the reasons highlighted above, it is apparent that Henry needs to be introduced as a temporary leader for the team to succeed. The Entrepreneurs at Twitter is an article that highlights the complex management structure throughout the history of the tech company. At Twitter, the position of CEO was a revolving door. The CEO position had changed multiple times as the founders each were determining which way to pivot their business. The animosity, personality differences, and friction between the founders and executives ultimately caused Twitter to not reach their goal of 1 billion users. A lesson is apparent on Twitter management in that the founding members of a company all need to be on the same page for a goal to be achieved. In MGI’s situation, a consistent leader will align the members on the same direction all working to one common goal. The hardest aspect of Henry becoming a new leader will be to get the Russians on board, especially Sasha. In the short term, the Russians will have to agree that their lack of leadership has been a hindrance to their success in the past. After the contest is over, the best thing for their company will be to hand it over to more capable management. The Russians also must understand that respect and understanding different ways of

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

conducting business is necessary. The Russians needs to leave all preconceived notions out the door to ensure cooperation and communication among all other stakeholders in the organization. As the more respected of the two HBS students, Henry will be the best one to convince the Russians that this is the only way the business will be successful. He will have to anticipate emotions, understand ethnic sentiments, and communicate openly and honestly to convince the Russians of his plan. This plan of action will give MGI and rest of the student team a chance to develop a cohesive business plan to detail their next steps.

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

Outline: MGI’s Team Processes ● It appears that the team had no systematic approach to problem solving within the organization. They spent far too long brainstorming large abstract ideas instead of focusing on smaller issues present. ● Team process is how individuals in a group grow and compromise to achieve one common goal. ● Not very organized, no one knew their specific role in the company or knew the mission they were attempting to achieve. ● Did not have one major boss with seniority and leadership and knowledge of the market to steer them in the right direction. ● Needed to establish a way for meetings to run, Dana wanted bank like meetings, musicians wanted a meeting with a lack of structure and creativity. ● Debates were not civil, personal vendettas occurred that bogged down meetings. MGI’s Cause of Problems ● Ethnic differences, Russians versus Americans. ● They do not have the trust to the founders at 1st meeting ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Sasha and Dana do not have a correct evaluation about each other. Sasha not believing in the student’s abilities to develop good business plans. Dana thinks that Sasha is just a salesperson. Sasha’s lack of interpersonal skills. Each person in the team had a different vision, should have an agreed upon vision before continuing work. Roles were poorly defined. Way each person conducts business (i.e. Dana as a banker, and musicians as creative minds) Russians and HBS students did not have fundamental respect for each other. Did not get to know each other better as individuals. Team was also too big They do not have a “real” leader.

MGI Team Strengths ● Henry-very organized, brought a lot of material to talk about, able to listen to arguments and create good analysis, cool, calm and collected, well versed. ● Dana-able to provide holistic analysis, not only looking at short-term success, investment banking experience able to push team forward ● Igor-able to read Sasha very well, talented musicians who is very self aware, able to hold the group of Russians together, very smart, and able to give praise to employees, creative genius who likes to discuss all possible avenues of success.

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Case: Henry Tam Case Study Analysis Group Number: 13

Team Members:

Abilash Janardhanan - aj595 Phuc Vo – pnv4

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Roman-able to create and stick to vision, creative as well, able to see tension between members, ● Sasha-integral business leader MGI Team Leader ● Henry is the only one that exhibits basic characteristics of a leader. Entrepreneurial Characteristics of Team ● Dana-able to observe and question surroundings. ● Russians-willing to network to meet people from variety of different backgrounds. ● Russians-able to keep going even when it is tough. ● Henry-cool, calm, collected, not afraid to experiment, observe, view decisions holistically. ● Relate topics stated in Twitter article in this portion of essay. Difference Among Team Members ● Differences among team sparked debates and led to creative discussions ● Personal grudges and feuds were worse than the ideas that came out of these discussions. Henry’s Actions ● Henry needs to step up as a temporary leader. ● Set up a personal meeting with Dana and Sasha to get over their personal issues to improve their professional working relationship. ● Utilize Alex more as a mediator between HBS and Russians. ● Suggest to the Russians to break up their professional clique. ● Stop his manipulation of Sasha with the good cop bad cop. ● Organize into two groups, business and innovations group, suggest innovations group meet, spend as much time as they want discussing ideas, and introduce one idea to the business team. Avoids some personality conflicts. ● Align everyone to one common vision.

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